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Marlon “Chito” Vera has a controversial question for Sean O’Malley after their UFC 299 rematch this past weekend (March 9, 2024).

Four years after their initial encounter that saw Vera best O’Malley via a first round technical knockout, “Sugar” scored redemption against his Ecuadorian counterpart. The pair battled a full five rounds in their sequel, which saw O’Malley win all five rounds en route to a redemptive unanimous decision (watch highlights).

Performance-wise, it doesn’t get much better than that for a first title defense in the case of Bantamweight’s O’Malley. However, Vera has curiously raised a controversial question for his rival.

“Who braid your hair @SugaSeanMMA you where grease to the bone I wonder how much gel they use ?” Vera tweeted.

“Send pic of your face,” quote tweeted O’Malley in response.

The loss for Vera was his second in his past three fights. To earn his first career title shot, he won a unanimous decision over fellow perennial contender, Pedro Munhoz, at UFC 292 in August 2023 — the same night O’Malley won the title against Aljamain Sterling (watch highlights).

Although the series is now tied at one win-a-piece between O’Malley and Vera, a trilogy bout is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Challengers aplenty are lining up to take on the champion with the No. 1-ranked Merab Dvalishvili leading the charge. Outside of the 135-pound division, O’Malley still likes the idea of challenging for Featherweight gold against Ilia Topuria … or taking a cross-sport boxing match.

For complete UFC 299 results and play-by-play, click HERE.

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The UFC is back in the world’s most famous APEX.

Following the sensational UFC 299, the world’s leading MMA promotor returns to its home base for UFC Vegas 88 this weekend, headlined by a heavyweight fight between Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura, so of course the No Bets Barred boys are here with a full breakdown of the card.

Conner Burks and Jed Meshew speak fondly of the wonder that was last weekend in combat sports, where UFC 299, Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, and a Cedric Doumbe fight all took place. Then it’s on to the business at hand and a deep dive into UFC Vegas 88.

Can Tai Tuivasa recapture the “Bam Bam” magic and knock out Marcin Tybura? Will Kennedy Nzechukwu like the new “Kenny Nunchucks” nickname Jed has chosen for him? How will the other Bryan Barberena, the other “Bam Bam”, do on Saturday? All this and more are discussed on this week’s episode.

Tune in for episode 81 of No Bets Barred.

New episodes of the No Bets Barred podcast drop every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. The latest episode can be heard below.

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Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera is accusing Sean O’Malley of greasing ahead of their UFC 299 title fight in Miami.

On Saturday (March 9), O’Malley delivered a dominant performance in his first defense of the bantamweight world title, scoring a unanimous decision victory over the only man to have bested him inside the Octagon.

Vera appeared to be humble in defeat, offering no excuses for his performance and showing confidence in his ability to bounce back. However, all of that seemed to change when ‘Chito’ accused O’Malley of greasing. For those unfamiliar, greasing is when a fighter uses a substance that makes himself slippery — an unfair advantage in a sport where grappling and controlling your opponent’s body is an essential aspect.

“Who braid your hair @SugaSeanMMA you where grease to the bone I wonder how much gel they use?” Vera wrote on X.

Generally, when one fighter accuses another of greasing, it’s because they were unable to secure takedowns or even get their hands wrapped around an opponent. Interestingly, ‘Chito’ never once looked to take things down to the ground against O’Malley in their rematch. According to the official stat sheet, he never attempted a takedown, let alone secured one, and clocked zero control time.

Sean O’Malley snaps back at ‘chito’

Responding to Vera’s accusation, Sean O’Malley requested ‘Chito’ Vera forward him a picture of his mangled face.

“Send pic of your face,” O’Malley responded.

Vera has yet to respond to O’Malley’s request, but plenty of fight fans were willing to give the champ a helping hand, posting an image of Vera’s face after eating 230 significant strikes over the 25-minute affair.

With their series officially tied at 1-1, perhaps we’ll see a trilogy fight between the two bantamweight stars. But for now, Vera will go back to the drawing board after failing to head back home with gold wrapped around his waist.

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Francis Ngannou didn’t feel quite right in the moments leading up to his fight against Anthony Joshua, though he makes no excuses for his loss.

In just his second professional boxing match, the former UFC heavyweight champion found not even a fraction of the success he did in losing a razor-close decision to Tyson Fury. Instead, he suffered a knockdown in the first round and then got planted on the canvas in similar fashion in the second.

The end came just after Ngannou got back to his feet. Joshua blasted him with a huge overhand right that shut the lights out in dramatic fashion. Ngannou knew getting knocked out by Joshua was a real possibility, but even he didn’t expect it to go down like that.

“We all knew it could happen,” Ngannou said during an Instagram Live session on Wednesday. “I wasn’t seeing it happen like that, but I always knew it could happen. At least, I was always prepared for that.”

Before he walked to the ring that night, Ngannou said something didn’t feel quite right as he warmed up backstage. He’s sure it’s a feeling some of his past opponents have probably felt going against him, which is why he’s not diminishing Joshua’s performance.

“I remember being in the locker [room] trying to warm up, and bro, it wasn’t going,” Ngannou said. “I was falling asleep. I’m sweating, but I’m falling asleep.

“But I assume that’s how some people I have fought, some people that I beat have felt before, but it was basically my first time to feel that. That’s why I kind of took a couple days out, I took some time for me. I obviously had to reflect on everything that’s happened through the fight.”

Ngannou didn’t address the timing of the fight, but the card from Saudi Arabia went on for several hours, and the main event didn’t take place until after 3 a.m. local time.

Perhaps that played some part in how Ngannou felt as he warmed up, but he didn’t want to take away from Joshua’s victory. He also refused to put any of the blame on his coaches or teammates, because ultimately he knows everybody did their job that night … except him.

“Heads up to Anthony Joshua, to his team, that executed their plan properly,” Ngannou said. “Hats off to my team, too, because they did a great job. I think I was the one that just didn’t execute the plan properly and maybe didn’t feel completely present. I was the only one that didn’t show up, let’s say that.

“Everybody showed up and did what should have been done. No blame to anybody. All the blame is just about me. That’s the game.”

In the aftermath of the fight, Ngannou said he didn’t have any lingering effects from the knockout, though he’s seen doctors and already has an appointment scheduled with a neurologist. That said, he isn’t rushing to compete again, but it’s not necessarily over concerns about his health.

Instead, Ngannou said he wants to decompress after a very busy few months. He fought Fury for 10 rounds this past October and then effectively shifted gears to get ready for Joshua in March.

“I was conscious right after [the knockout], and since then everything’s been good,” Ngannou explained. “Still going to run some medical work, just in case.

“Right now, I don’t know exactly what the fight I will be looking for next. I know that I’m going to take some time to rest up, focus on myself, and then when I’m ready I will get back to training. Therefore we can start to discuss the fights. As for now, we will just live the life. Because always remember, it doesn’t matter what is your profession, there’s always a life, we have a life going on that will continue to go.”

Despite the setback this past weekend, Ngannou insists he’s not done with boxing, and he definitely plans on living up to his commitment to compete in the PFL. But he can’t say for certain what’s next. He knows there are plenty of challenges to conquer across both sports.

“I’m not done with boxing, I’m not done with MMA,” Ngannou said. “Basically right now, I have an opponent now in the PFL in Renan Ferreira. That will be my future opponent in the PFL, but again, I basically have a lot of fights in the future. I can still combine [sports], I will still be back in action. Not because I’m more comfortable in MMA that I will let boxing go. I’m still going to do both.

“It’s part of what we do. We take challenges. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. But we are working on it.”

With Ferreira waiting in the PFL, Ngannou is still open to any potential opponents in boxing, which includes a potential showdown with fellow knockout artist Deontay Wilder. He’s not making any decisions yet, but he plans on staying busy once he’s ready to fight again.

“It’s not over yet – not at all,” Ngannou said. “We’re just getting started. The only thing that we will miss this year is time, and I think we have some good amount of time ahead of us. Going to take some time for myself, chill, spend time with my family, my friends and then come back ready.”

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Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal first fought at UFC 244 in November 2019 in the inaugural “BMF” symbolic title fight.  The fight was halted by the doctor after the third round due to nasty cuts above and below Diaz’ right eye.   

The rematch will take place inside the boxing ring on June 1 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.  Masvidal made the announcement on Wednesday via social media.  

“It’s official and it’s happening!! Deadman walking @NateDiaz209 June 1 – early pricing on sale NOW,” Masvidal posted on Instagram along with a promo for the fight. 

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Diaz also confirmed the matchup on his social media.  “It’s Official,” he wrote on Instagram.  

“Nate’s a dead man walking,” Masvidal said in a statement. “I can’t wait to prove that last time was no fluke. He got saved by the referee. Now we are boxing, which he says is his forte, but he’s got no shot at beating me. I’m not going to give him an inch in that ring to even breathe. If he thought our MMA match was bad, this is going to be much worse. I’m going to drown him. 

“I want to put away any talk that him and I are the same, or that the referee saved the day. All of that talk ends June 1. Violence and throwing hands are in both of our bloods but as I proved before, I’m a far superior athlete and I’m a meaner fighter. When June 1 comes I’ll put all unanswered questions to rest, live for the world to see.”

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